


Mall Security

by LilacChocolate



Series: Rin & Nitori [20]
Category: Free!
Genre: Banter, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-18
Updated: 2018-05-18
Packaged: 2019-05-08 13:29:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14695185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilacChocolate/pseuds/LilacChocolate
Summary: Rin saves Ai from being harassed whilst working at the mall.





	Mall Security

‘We’ll see you in the morning!’ Makoto shouted over his shoulder and Rin just groaned, watching as the olive-haired man left the security office hand-in-hand with Haruka.

He waved them off, then brought his sport science textbook out of his bag, setting it down in front of the camera monitors. Working as a security guard in the local mall was not how he envisioned paying his way through university, yet here he was, revising for his exams dressed like a police officer, but without the handcuffs.

Sousuke dawdled into the office, late as usual, and busy trying to pull his shirt collar up to hide an impressive hickey blooming on his neck.

‘Momo again?’ Rin asked.

The other man sighed. ‘Yes, Momo.’

‘If you don’t like it, just tell him. You’re his boyfriend.’

Sousuke smirked. ‘But if I didn’t let him do it to me, then he wouldn’t let me do it to him.’

Rin grimaced, not wanting the image of his best friend giving his boyfriend hickies. ‘Okay, great, whatever. Let’s never talk about this again.’

Sousuke sat down in the chair beside Rin with a sigh. ‘It’s just because it’s the late shift. It always takes me forever to get home when we’re done here because of the awkward time. Momo just misses me.’

‘Could he miss you in some other way?’

The teal-eyed man smirked again. ‘I don’t think you’d like the other way. Besides, you’ll understand when you finally get into a relationship.’

Rin rolled his eyes. He and Sousuke had been through high school together, and whilst Rin had been on a few dates here and there, he’d never liked someone enough to fully commit. He supposed Sousuke was right, that he would understand eventually, but until then, it was pretty gross to hear about.

‘I know we’ve both got exams coming up and we need to study,’ Sousuke said, forgoing the subject of his small boyfriend, ‘but we will need to patrol tonight before the mall closes and the shift changes over.’

Rin looked up at the monitors with a glare. The mall didn’t shut for a few hours yet, but it was a weekday and it was practically dead. ‘There’s no one here. What do we need to patrol for?’

‘Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because it’s our job?’

The redhead rolled his eyes. ‘Look, you go and patrol first, then we’ll switch when you get back. That way at least one of us can revise each time, okay?’

Sousuke nodded and got his own textbook out, then left the security room. Rin turned back to his book and began to read, scribbling notes in the margins and glancing up at the monitors every so often. There was nothing of interest going on. The last few shoppers were flitting in and out of stores, cleaners had begun their work, and all of the fountains had been switched off. Rin was certain he could revise in peace until Sousuke came back without missing a major incident on the screens.

By the time Rin was on his sixth patrol of the night, there were only twenty minutes left of his and Sousuke’s shift before the night guards came in, and, of course, something had to happen. On the top floor, in a small crevice by Topshop, was a cute grey-haired boy, who was probably slightly younger than Rin, and he being harassed by a group of men.

The red-head sighed, not wanting to deal with this when he was almost done for the night, but he strolled up to the group anyway: this was his job, after all. ‘Oi.’

All of the men looked up, and as soon as they saw Rin they backed away from the grey-haired boy.

‘Is there a problem here?’ Rin asked.

The men shook their heads but stayed stood where they were, looking awkwardly between Rin and the boy they had been harassing.

‘On your way then.’

They bowed and moved off, each of them grumbling under the breath, and once they were far enough away, Rin stepped over to the boy. ‘You okay? Did they hurt you?’

The boy shook his head, eyes firmly fixed on his shoes.

Rin took a step closer to him, and only then did the boy look up. He was cute, that’s what Rin noticed first, then he focused on his plump pink lips, the mole under his eye; all of the features that made him look so sweet. Rin felt something within his chest begin to thrum, but he ignored it when he saw the boy’s light blue eyes were filled with tears.

‘Oh, errmm, okay… will you come back to the security room with me? Then you can calm down properly.’

The boy nodded with a sniff, and Rin placed a hand on his shoulder to steer him in the right direction, and surprisingly, he didn’t flinch away from his touch.

By the time they got to the security room, the boy had calmed down considerably, but still looked shaken up as Rin sat him down in a chair.

‘What’s going on?’ Sousuke asked as he turned around from the monitors, eyebrows raised when he saw the boy.

‘Just get him a cup of tea.’

Sousuke scuttled over to the kitchen cubby and began preparing the drink, and Rin knelt down in front of the boy.

‘How are you feeling?’

The boy shrugged with a sniff.

‘Did they touch you? Do we need to call the police, a doctor?’

‘No,’ the boy said, his voice sweet and smooth and so cute. ‘But thank you for your concern.’ The boy’s pale cheeks coloured pink with a gorgeous blush and Rin smiled.

‘Here you go,’ Sousuke said as he came over with the cup of tea.

‘Thanks,’ the boy whispered, taking the mug from Sousuke and having a sip. ‘That’s good.’

‘Here.’ Rin reached for his university bag and took out a chocolate bar, handing the boy a square of it. ‘This’ll make you feel better.’

The boy accepted the chocolate and ate it, taking another sip of tea afterwards. ‘Thank you,’ he said with a small smile, his blush darker now.

‘Sousuke, why don’t you go on patrol for a bit?’

The taller man grumbled but left the room and Rin smiled at the boy. ‘Feeling better now?’

‘A little.’

‘You can stay here for a bit, if you like. And when you’re ready to go, I’ll walk you to the exit, okay?’

The boy nodded and Rin sat in the other chair, watching the monitors. As the black and white screens flickered, he saw his reflection in the monochromatic pictures, and Rin’s eyes widened when he saw that he himself was blushing. What was wrong with him? He never blushed, not even when he was embarrassed. He cast a glance over his shoulder and saw that the boy was looking at him over the rim of his mug, still blushing through the light steam, and both men looked away quickly.

Rin focused on the monitors, trying to find Sousuke on the cameras to distract him from the pounding in his chest and the butterflies in his stomach. It had been so long since he’d felt like this. He only just realised how much he had missed the feeling of falling for someone.

The redhead bit his lip as he smiled at his reflection, but released it when he heard the mug be placed down.

‘I’ll go now,’ the boy said, his clothes rustling as he stood up. ‘Thank you for taking care of me, but I’ll walk myself to the entrance.’

‘Oh, are you sure? Those men might still be in the mall.’

The boy’s eyes widened and he glanced at the monitors. ‘Don’t you have work to do, though?’ He shuffled his feet. ‘I mean… aren’t you too busy to walk me out?’

Rin shook his head with a smile. ‘No, I’m almost done for the night. They don’t make university students work the night shift. Let’s go.’

The redhead led the way, the boy padding along beside him.

‘What are you studying?’ the boy asked, taking Rin by surprise: he wasn’t sure that the boy was comfortable enough to speak to him.

‘Sport science at Tokyo U. I’m a second year.’

The boy smiled. ‘I study there, too. First year dance.’ He bit his lip. ‘Maybe I’ll see you around sometime?’

‘Yeah, maybe.’

They stopped at the automatic doors leading into the shopping centre, cold air drifting in and out whenever someone walked too close to the doors.

The grey-haired boy shuffled awkwardly. ‘Maybe we could get lunch together on campus one day? So I can thank you properly for rescuing me.’

Rin smiled. In any other circumstance, he would try to brush them off, say that he didn’t need a “proper” thanks, but this cute boy, one who had obviously worked up a lot of courage to ask him out, and who could make Rin blush and feel faint from just looking at his pretty face; he wouldn’t push aside an opportunity to go on a date with him. ‘Sure. Let’s swap numbers.’

The boy’s face lit up and they exchanged phones, typing in their details before giving them back.

Rin looked at his new contact entry and smiled at the name: Nitori Aiichiro. ‘I’ll be in touch to arrange something soon, Ai.’

Aiichiro blushed. ‘Okay. Good night… Rin-senpai.’

Rin grinned at the honorific and watched as Aiichiro left the shopping centre before he went back up to the security room.

Sousuke was waiting for him inside, leant against the desk with his arms folded across his chest. ‘So, when’s the wedding?’

Rin rolled his eyes and sat down. ‘Not yet. But we’re going on a date.’

‘Aw, RinRin’s going on his first date in… I’m not even sure when the last time you went on a date was.’

Rin groaned. ‘Call me RinRin again and I’ll tell Momo about the time you flirted with Rei when you were drunk.’

Sousuke narrowed his eyes. ‘You wouldn’t.’

‘Wanna bet?’

‘Rin!’

**Author's Note:**

> http://lilacchocolate.tumblr.com/


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